Troubled Times at Imperium

John Davis

imperium-logo1.gifSeattle-based biodiesel giant Imperium Renewables seems to be hitting some tough times lately.

The latest news from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer says the company is laying people off:

The Seattle biodiesel producer, which employed 107 people in mid-August, did not provide specific numbers. It issued this short statement when asked about the layoff by the P-I’s Andrea James.

“Imperium Renewables has reduced its corporate workforce. The move is part of an ongoing restructuring plan that realigns the company to address short term challenges and ensure the company’s long term growth. These changes do not impact production of biodiesel at Imperium Grays Harbor.”

This news comes on the heels of last week’s postponement of the company’s initial public offering (see my Jan. 3rd post) and chief executive Martin Tobias either leaving or being told to leave the company last month (see my Dec. 27th post).

There’s not a lot of information on why all of this is happening right now for Imperium, but speculation is that rising feedstock prices, including soybean oil, is putting the squeeze on the company.

Biodiesel

Ethanol Pioneer Dies

Cindy Zimmerman

Don EvansOne of the original ethanol visionaries has passed away, but the plant he helped to build in 1984 continues to operate.

The Washington Post today published the obituary of Donald Evans, a Washington area lawyer and “70s ethanol pioneer,” as the headline reads. In 1980, he and other partners formed New Energy Inc. of Indiana to build a $185 million ethanol production plant in South Bend, Ind.

Much of their construction expense was covered by an Energy Department loan guarantee through the federal alcohol fuels program, and the plant became operational by 1984.

Mr. Evans, who served as chief operating officer, weathered a volatile business climate as oil prices and public outcry for alternative energies declined substantially. He sold his interest in 1990 and went on to other business ventures, even as New Energy continued to operate.

Evans died Jan. 5 of head injuries sustained in a 2005 boating accident.

Ethanol, News

Professor Using Own Technology for Biodiesel Plant

John Davis

gao.jpgA professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale want to build a biodiesel plant that uses technology he and his fellow researchers have been working on.

This story from the Southern.com web site (in Carbondale, Illinois) says SIUC professor Yong Gao wants to use two chemical processes he has perfected in the lab at his own biodiesel plant to see just how good the technology is in the field:

One of Gao’s patented processes involves taking “brown” and “yellow” (food industry jargon for used oil) grease drippings from fried food and converting it into biodiesel fuel.

Recycling the grease, collected in tanks at restaurants, would save space at local landfills. Gao said he wants to make inquiries with disposal sites nationwide about brown grease. About 5 billion pounds of the stuff produced in the United States annually could be converted into 300 million gallons of biodiesel. The state of Illinois alone has more than 300 landfill sites for burying solid wastes, Gao said.

“It’s doable. The technology is there dealing with brown grease,” Gao said while holding up two small vials, one with the raw brown liquid and the other with a converted clear biodiesel fuel.

It’s a production process that takes up to two hours and involves smelly emissions, which is the worst effect to the environment, Gao said. The Environmental Protection Agency does not classify brown grease as a hazardous waste.

Another one of Gao’s processes uses a soybean oil derivative as an anti-gelling additive that allows the biodiesel to be used at lower temperatures.

Biodiesel

POET Opens First Ohio Plant

Cindy Zimmerman

POET Ohio plant POET hosted a grand opening ceremony Thursday for their 22nd ethanol production facility and the first in the state of Ohio.

Some 3,000 people attended the opening of POET Biorefining – Leipsic, including Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Congressman Bob Latta and Mike Wagner, Executive Director for the Buckeye Renewable Fuels Association.

“The State of Ohio is excited to partner with POET to bring about a transformation in how we as Americans produce and consume energy,” Governor Strickland said. “POET has demonstrated its commitment to expanding an important home-grown energy source. This increased production of ethanol in Ohio replaces millions of barrels of imported oil with domestic renewable energy. It is crucial that Ohio foster advanced, reliable, and affordable energy sources – for our economy, our pocketbooks, and our environment.”

POET Ohio plantPOET officials say the facility will be equipped with technology that decreases its environmental footprint, including POET’s patent-pending BPX™ process that eliminates the need for heat in the cooking process of producing ethanol, reducing energy usage by 8-15 percent in comparison with conventional plants. It will also be outfitted with a regenerative thermal oxidizer that eliminates up to 99.9 percent of air emissions.

“We are honored to open the first ethanol plant in the Buckeye state and the first in the nation since the historic legislation of the 2007 Energy Bill,” Jeff Broin, CEO of POET, said. “This inspiring piece of leadership goes further than we ever have gone before as a nation to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy. We are proud to be here today doing everything in our power to continue to move our nation away from Middle-East oil and toward Midwest ethanol.”

POET Biorefining – Leipsic is the first of three ethanol production facilities that POET will open in Ohio this year. Additional POET plants are currently under construction in Marion and Fostoria.

EPIC, Ethanol, Facilities, News

Oilsource/Greenline Pump Up Biodiesel Production in Florida

John Davis

Oilsource Holding GroupA major biodiesel production facility is coming to Florida. Oilsource Holdings and Greenline Industries are teaming up to build the largest biodiesel plant in the Southeastern United States.

A 60 million gallon per year plant is expected to be commissioned by the first quarter of 2009. The plant will be located in Miami, Florida, with rail spur access for distribution within a ninety-mile radius of three of Florida’s most important ports. The project is planned to be completed in three phases with a vertically integrated business strategy and reaching its target capacity in the third phase. The estimated $96 million investment will represent over $1 billion flowing through the economy of Florida.

Greenline IndustriesWorking with Greenline Industries, the production process becomes modular so we can scale up quickly as demand increases. The execution of a biodiesel project of this size and caliber from planning to large-scale production will require the combined efforts of the community, the local governments, and the industry in general.

Oilsource and Greenline say that greenhouse gases can be reduced by almost 80 percent when using biodiesel. They say the fuel also emits a lower level of several air pollutants as compared to traditional diesel.

Biodiesel, Distribution, Energy, Facilities, News

Babcock & Brown Wind Up Wind Energy

John Davis

Babcock & BrownOne of the largest wind farms in the U.S. has reached full operation. Babcock & Brown and BP have successfully reached full capacity with their wind farm in Weld County, Colorado.

The 300.5 megawatt wind-power facility has been delivered on time, on budget and without a single lost time incident during its construction. General contractor Mortenson Construction has received industry recognition for construction performance of one of the largest single-build wind projects in the U.S. to date.

Construction of the 274-wind turbine facility located approximately eight miles east of Grover in north-central Weld County, Colorado, began last December. Phase one of the development, totaling 280.5 MW, became commercially operational in November. The final 20 MW has now been brought on line. The power produced from the Cedar Creek wind farm is sold to the Public Service Company of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc.

Agribusiness, Energy, Wind

Low-Cost Biodiesel from BioGold

John Davis

BioGold FuelsProduction of biodiesel is getting cheaper and cheaper. At least, it is for BioGold Fuels.

Through its acquisition of Full Circle Industries, research and development, and strategic relationships, BioGold Fuels Corporation has developed a low cost method of producing diesel fuel and other types of energy derived from municipal solid waste and other types of waste.

While other producers of bio-fuels and renewable fuels pay up to 60% of the sales price for raw materials, BioGold will get its raw material free of charge, and in fact, actually get paid fees for disposing of the waste.

BioGold Fuels separates the MSW into raw materials, organic waste, and inorganic waste. The majority of the organic waste is converted into Bio-Diesel, synthetic gas, or energy, while the remaining materials can be sold for scrap or other by-products. The company is paid a ‘tipping fee’ from the companies that need to dispose of this waste. This results in multiple revenue streams for BioGold and drastically reduces or eliminates any remaining trash that would be dumped into a landfill.

Agribusiness, Biodiesel, Energy

U of Akron Tackles Fuel Cell Technology

John Davis

firste.pngFirstEnergy has awarded the University of Akron in Nothern Ohio $2 million for an advanced energy research center. The center will focus on researching carbon capturing and fuel cell technologies.

The fund will be used to create the FirstEnergy Advanced Energy Research Center at the University and support development of carbon capture and coal-based fuel cells.

FirstEnergy also has secured a $250,000 contribution to the fund from CONSOL Energy, one of the nation’s leading coal producers and a major fuel supplier to the electric power industry in the northeast United States.

The Advanced Energy Research Center initially will focus on development of carbon capture technologies that could be used by fossil-fueled power plants and the development of coal-based fuel cells for commercial use.

The University also plans to expand the center’s work over time to include development of new electric grid technologies needed for end-use efficiency, demand response, distributed generation, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and energy storage, as well as advanced generation technologies such as renewables, clean-coal and other low- or zero-emissions technologies.

Energy, Facilities, Research

Wind Energy Sets Record in 2007

John Davis

awea.jpgThe amount of energy in the U.S. produced from wind has had another record year in 2007.

This story on the Fox Business web site says figures from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) show the trend is continuing up for the industry:

The AWEA estimates the industry will install a record 3,000 MW of new wind power capacity in 2007 — and for the first time produce enough total energy to supply more than 3 million American homes.

2007 was also a year of other important wind energy milestones. Texas surpassed California as the nation’s largest generator of wind power and conventional oil and gas companies BP and Shell expanded into renewable wind energy.

The US wind power generation business continued to be led by integrated utilities in 2007. According to statistics published by the AWEA, Florida Power and Light was the nation’s leading wind power developer in 2007 and Xcel Energy, the largest purchaser of wind generated power.

Wind

SF Mayor Highlights Green in Inaugural Address

John Davis

newsominaug.jpgSan Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom highlighted green energy, including biodiesel, solar, and wind, in his inaugural address.

Here’s an excerpt from that speech from the mayor’s web site:

The most important step we can take is to make this city carbon neutral. And that is exactly what we are going to do. Today I am pledging to make city government carbon neutral by the year 2020.

It is a daring challenge, but we will make it a reality by building on our pioneering initiatives – a carbon tax and a local carbon offset plan, a 100% biodiesel fleet, a landmark solar incentive program, a green collar jobs tax credit and innovative green building requirements.

And that is just the beginning. We are not just a beacon for the world – we are going to light this city with renewable power. We are aggressively advancing to expand local renewable energy generation – tidal, wave, solar, wind and geothermal.

As you might remember from my November 29th, 2007 post, more than 1,500 vehicles including buses, several fire engines, ambulances, and street sweepers (just to name a few) the city runs are now running on biodiesel, proving that San Francisco is putting its money where its green mouth is.

Biodiesel, Government, Solar, Wind